Hidden In Plain Sight
by CrazyRedQueen
Summary: Jade runs away and returns nearly three months later, yet she's carrying secrets she hopes no one discovers. Rated T for now, just be warned it may go up. A very dramatic Bade story. -ABANDONED-
1. Chapter One

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

 **Summary: After a breakup with Beck, Jade runs away. Nearly three months later, she returns. She's changed a lot and refuses to talk about what happened whilst she was gone- not even to Cat or Beck. Bade.**

Chapter One:

Jade's POV;

"So that's it?" I questioned. I was holding back tears as I stared at Beck. He looked down, ashamed to look in my eyes. I breathed through my nose, heavily and moved to pick up my Gears of War bag up off the floor. I had come straight to his RV after school so we could work on our math homework, but I just had to bring up the fact that he had been staring at Tori for too long. I knew I was just being paranoid, but I would never admit that to Beck.

Beck nodded, finally moving his eyes from the floor to meet my own. I swear I could see tears in his eyes, but realised I must have been mistaken because Beck never cries. I nodded my head back, accepting the fact that this was it. Me and Beck were over. There was no getting back. We had come to a silent understanding, and I had honestly lost all energy- I couldn't be bothered to argue anymore. I was done and it seemed he was, too.

I turned and opened the door to the RV I had spent most of my high school years in. I hesitated for a split second, hoping, just _hoping_ that he would stop me, say something and tell me he was making a mistake. But he stayed silent and allowed me to leave.

The second I stepped out of the RV and had closed the door behind me, I started running. I could feel the tears brimming in my eyes and I didn't want to break down and cry in front of my boy- _ex_ boyfriend's home. I felt my feet propelling me forwards, taking me home, and before I knew it, I was at my own home. I hadn't been here since this morning and it was now 11pm. I hadn't told my father where I was going after school so he was probably wondering where I had gone, but not enough to be worried or call the police.

Quietly, I unlocked and opened the door, letting myself in. I closed the door with a soft _click_ and waited silently, listening to see if my father was awake. When I realised he wasn't, I quickly made my way through the house to the stairway and went up them. I strode to the door at the end of the long hallway and opened it, stepping into my dark room. And I don't mean dark because of the light, I mean dark because of the colours. I smiled happily at how much it matched my personality.

I slung my bag on the bed and threw myself down next to it. For a while I stared at the ceiling emotionlessly, not allowing myself to think or feel anything. I knew if I did, I would think of mine and Beck's breakup and I- at that moment, I let out a heart wrenching sob. I hastily covered my mouth, trying to stifle my crying for fear of waking up my father- I knew he wouldn't be happy in the slightest.

My body shook with each covered cry. I tightly closed my eyes to stop the tears. Wiping my sleeve over my eyes to dry the wetness, I sat up on the bed and reached for my bag. I opened it up and searched through it for my red pearphone. I found it at the bottom and I unlocked it with shaky fingers as I still tried to stop crying. Stopping what I was doing for a moment, I took a deep breath in then exhaled.

I repeated the action a few more times before I had calmed down enough to go back to what I had opened up on my screen. On my phone, Cat's contact was up. The picture I had saved for her smiled back at me. Not a hint of sadness present- there never was with Cat. She was always the life among out group, always came to school every day with a smile on her face and new story to tell. Whether it be about her brother, a dream she had, or just something random she thought of on the spot, she always had something positive to say.

I thought for moment. Did I really want to do this? Did I really want to dampen Cat's mood with my darkness and depression? Well, it had to be done, I decided. Someone had to know my plans otherwise I wouldn't be able to go through with it.

With the press of a button, I was calling Cat. I quickly checked the time on my phone screen before putting the cell to my ear. 11:26pm. There was a high chance Cat wouldn't be awake, but I had to call anyway. She always kept her phone on loud anyway, and the second her subconscious heard the Sesame Street theme tune, she'd be up.

It took four repetitive rings before the red-head answered her phone. There was a groggy "Jadey?" From her end of the phone and I almost felt bad for waking the child-like teen. Almost. "Hey, Kitty-Kat," I replied, bringing back the nickname I gave her in Kindergarten. Just this once, for her.

"What's wrong, Jadey? Why are you calling me so late?" She curiously asked. I sighed.

"I just needed to tell you something. But you have to promise not to tell anyone."

* * *

Tori's POV;

I walked into school, lagging behind Trina (who was making me carry her stupid books), and almost tripped. I groaned. Why did Trina have to be so annoying? I wondered to myself. When we neared the steps, I helped my older sister put her books in her bag and immediately left her, heading towards my own locker.

Below my locker, I saw Cat. She was sitting by her own bright pink locker with a sad expression on her face. I also took notice of the dark colours she was wearing. I frowned. Why was Cat so upset? Nothing upset her this bad. Except Mona Patterson's death. That had been dreadful.

I sat next to the red-head and looked at her. She ignored me until I coughed to alert her to my presence. She looked at me for a second before turning back to stare at her one outstretched leg. " _Cat,_ " I whined, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied. I rolled my eyes, she was the worst liar ever.

"You can't lie to me, Cat," I told her. She looked up at me and I smiled encouragingly at her.

"Well, last night... Something may have happened, but I promised not to tell anyone," she admitted. I sighed.

"Did Robbie try to play 'pirates' with you again?"

"No! It's nothing like that," she hastily reassured me. I nodded, waiting for her to continue. "It's just, I got a phone call. From someone," I saw her eyes sneakily drift to Jade's locker and I silently wondered if the goth had done something to upset Cat. It wouldn't be the first time, I realised with a grimace. "And they entrusted me with some information," the use of big words from Cat made me sit up straighter- this must have been serious. I gave her my full attention, ignoring the warning bell. "And- and," she stuttered, "and the information made me sad, but I can't tell anyone and that made me even sadder," she squeaked, covering her mouth with a hand. I pulled her in, letting her head rest on my shoulder as I shushed her, quieting her crying.

It didn't take long before she stopped crying and we could talk again. "Cat, you can tell me what happened. Who called you and what aren't you allowed to tell anyone?" I pressured. She fiddled with her sleeves before she could no longer take it anymore and burst out, "it was Jade! She ran away last night and made me swear not to tell anyone or she'd kill Mr. Purple!" She exposed and with a gasp covered her mouth again. I gasped too and covered my mouth. Jade had run away?! We had to tell someone!

I quickly stood up and dragged Cat up with me. She grabbed her bag on her way up and squealed in glee. It was shocking how her mood could change in a split second. Sometimes I worried about her. "Where are we going, Tori?" She asked when I quickly put a book I had brought to school in my locker. "We're going to tell someone. Jade could get hurt, or lost, or even die!" I had exaggerated the last part, but it got Cat's attention so I wasn't too worried about my lie. "But we can't, Tori, I promised!" She said as I grabbed her arm again, intending to drag her to Lane's office.

"Can't what? And promised who what?" I heard from behind me.

* * *

Beck's POV;

I was heading towards Cat and Tori because Sikowitz wasn't too impressed when those two and Jade didn't show up for class. I knew Jade wouldn't she was probably sulking at home. I don't blame her, though. I wasn't going to come into school today, either, but I had an exam last period so I had to.

When I reached two of the girls I was looking for, I heard Cat exclaim in a panicked voice, "but we can't, Tori, I promised!" Curious as to what had Kitty-Kat so worked up, I made my presence known by asking, "can't what? And promised who what?" Both girls looked at me, shocked. I had a feeling this had something to do with Jade. If Cat's behaviour and sad mood was anything to go by, she had either been told by the goth that we had broken up or Jade had done something and made Cat promise not to say anything. Jade used to do that a lot back at the start of high school when she had problems at home.

That last thought worried me and I focussed my attention on the fidgeting girls in front of me. "Well?" I asked in a more demanding tone.

"I'm sorry, Cat," Tori apologised then turned to me, "Jade ran away last night and made Cat promise not to tell," she said in one breath. I felt like my world had stopped turning, like the breath had been knocked out of me, like I was going to die right then and there. I was so shocked I could do nothing more than stare at my friends. They stared back with pity and sadness. I took a step back in shock when I had gathered almost all of my bearings. "What did you say?" I questioned. Tori repeated herself and then I knew, I knew that I hadn't misheard. Jade had run away last night.

I turned to Cat, who had tears in her eyes for her best friend, "did she tell you where she was going?" I pressured, striding forward. Cat shrunk back and I stopped myself, waiting for her answer. "I-I don't know, Beck. It was so late and she woke me up and- and I just don't remember anything other than the fact that she's run away," she said with sadness and guilt.

I nodded, backing off for a moment. "We need to tell someone," Tori said, breaking the silence. "Sikowitz, Lane, her parents, the cops. It doesn't matter, we just need to find her," both Cat and I bobbed our heads, agreeing with her. It was a good thing she had come to her senses. If she wanted to see her best friend again, she needed to tell someone exactly what Jade had told her.


	2. Chapter Two

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

(I'm sorry this is a really long chapter, but I couldn't find a suitable place to end it.)

Chapter Two:

 **Beck's POV;**

It had now been nearly three months since Jade ran away. Me, Tori, and Cat had told Lane straight away what had happened and he called the cops to report it. She was all over the news for weeks. They ruled it out as a simple teenager thing, though. A silly run away. They had hope she would come back, but after two months, they changed it to a missing persons case. I don't know why, but if it got Jade found, I didn't care.

Right now, nearly three months later, me, Cat, Tori, Andre, and Robbie sat at our usual table. A tense silence settled over us all, the entire school, actually. It had been this way since Jade ran away and was then deemed a missing person. No one dared mention her name for fear of 'upsetting' any of our group. It was obvious, though, that her running away had affected everyone.

Sikowitz wore shoes, Sinjin was no longer a weirdo, Trina wasn't as annoying and settled down, Cat was quiet, Robbie had ditched Rex for a while, unable to take his remarks about the "Wicked Witch". It was odd, the person everyone feared most at our school had affected everyone with her disappearance. I was unable to say whether it was for the best or not because I actually missed how things used to be.

I was ruthlessly dragged back to the present when Cat's phone started ringing and her Sesame Street ringtone started blaring. At least she had kept that, I thought. The red-head rummaged through her bag and brought her pear phone out to see who was ringing her. Her eyebrows furrowed, "it's an unknown number. Shall I answer it?" She asked us. Tori readily nodded and pointed to the phone, "it might be about Jade! Maybe they've found her," I sighed, and so did Andre. Tori never seemed to lose hope in finding her frenemy.

Cat pressed the answer button and put the phone to her ear with a dejected, "hello?" There was a moment of silence as she listened to the other person. Her eyes widened and she let out an ear piercing squeal. "It's Jade!" She shouted and everyone around us quickly turned their head to look in our direction with shocked and happy expressions.

Trina and Sinjin ran over from where they had been talking near the Grub Truck. I was shocked that Trina cared about the girl who was always poking fun at her. They both sat down at the empty spaces at the table where none of us ever sat for some reason. "Put it on speaker!" Robbie ordered. I would have said it myself if I wasn't so shocked. Everyone else nodded their approval and Cat did as she was told with a "KK."

She pressed the speaker button and suddenly we could hear our favourite aggressive person calling Cat's name. "Cat! Listen to me goddamnit!" She yelled. Cat yelped and apologised profusely. There was a sigh on the other end, "sorry, Cat, I'm just in a bad mood," I could have sworn I heard her voice crack at the end of her sentence but I played it off as the phone connection. "Jadey, where are you? We're so worried. The police have reported you missing," Cat cried. Literally, she now had tears running down her face.

There was silence on the other end, only broken by the odd footstep and twig breaking. Was she in a forest? I wondered, with worry. What the hell? I thought. "I'm in LA still. I-I need some place to stay for a bit and I was wondering if I could stay with you? I can't go back home, not with my dad there," she admitted. Both me and Cat knew why she hated her father and we shared a look before Cat decided to reply to Jade. "You can stay with me, Jadey. For as long as you want. You can even live with me, we'll have so much fun! We'll have sleepovers every night and have hot cocoa-" she was interrupted by Jade once again yelling her name. Both me, Andre, and Tori shook our heads at the fact that Cat might be blowing our one chance at getting Jade to come back home. "Cat, I don't want to stay at yours for sleepovers. I just need a place to stay for a few days," Jade said. Cat let out a breath of air, sadly, and told Jade she could still stay at hers and she'd see her later.

Jade ended the phone call without a goodbye, and Cat put her phone down on the table. The silence was broken by Tori jumping up and yelling in joy. She ran over to hug Cat and we all joined in. This was the happiest we'd been in three months. We even let Trina and Sinjin join in the hug because they deserved it. It was weird to say that but over the past few months, we'd gotten closer to the two and had actually gotten used to Sinjin's weirdness and Trina's ego. Not that we'd accepted them into the group, of course.

We all separated and decided to go and find out favourite teacher and tell him that we'd just spoken to Jade. He'd be over the moon, he'd been oddly depressed since Jade had run away. I guessed it was because Sikowitz was more like a father figure to us all, than a teacher.

* * *

 **Cat's POV;**

Me and Tori were on our way to my house to wait, or see (if she's already there), Jadey. I had brought Tori along because she really wanted to see Jadey after nearly three months. I could tell Beck wanted to see her, too, but they had broken up and he knew it wasn't a good idea. I think Jade ran away in the first place because of their breakup. I could never hate Beck, though so I didn't voice my thoughts for fear of upsetting him or him hating me. I didn't want _anyone_ to hate me, especially Beck.

When we got to my house and were at the front door, I put my key in and tried to unlock it only to realise it was already unlocked. That meant Jadey was already here! A long time ago, my parents gave her a key to our house because she always got kicked out of her house after an argument with her dad. I was so sad Jade couldn't get along with her dad, but I guess it didn't matter because she had me and everyone else in our group.

I walked into the house and left the door open for Tori to follow me in. I heard it click behind me, but I wasn't too bothered with that because I was looking for Jadey. As I got further into my house I could hear music. It was really loud and scream-y. I covered my ears and allowed Tori to lead me to the music, which I recognised as Jade's music. She always loved that music, but I don't know why because it was so loud, and sad, and- and _vulgar._ Robbie had taught me that word after Rex had said some stuff and I heard Robbie call him 'vulgar'. He had to explain what it meant and what Rex was saying, was vulgar.

I removed my hands from my ears when both me and Tori were outside of my bedroom. The music was really loud and I wondered how Jade could handle it, especially if she was _in_ the room, not outside of it like me and Tori were. I opened the door to my bedroom and was suddenly assaulted with the sound of loud, screaming, music. I yelped and covered my ears. I saw Tori go into my room and turn off the music so I could remove my hands and hear again.

Now that we were in the room, I looked around and spotted Jadey on my bed. She had her eyes closed and her breathing was heavy, so I realised she was asleep. I briefly wondered how she could sleep with that music so loud, but then I remembered she had slept soundly during the war when we visited Yerba. That was a disaster...

I was pulled out of my wandering train of thoughts when Tori went up to Jade and took a look at her. She was very pale, now that I had a better view after moving closer to my bed. Paler than usual, I mean. We didn't think much of it, though because Jade had always been pale and after running away, we assumed she had been hiding out or didn't have much to eat.

I sat down on the bed next to Jade and gently started shaking her shoulder. She was curled up on her side in a fetal position and she looked really comfortable so I felt kind of bad for waking her, but we needed to speak to her. After all, this was the first time we'd seen her in nearly three months. I could feel Jadey waking up so I stood up and called her name a couple of times.

I saw Tori reaching down to shake her shoulder as I had done. Everything happened so fast, but one minute Tori was waking Jade up fully, the next she was awake and holding a pair of bent, bloody scissors to Tori's throat as the Latina was pressed against the wall, creasing one of my favourite posters of the Waggafuffles. I gasped when I realised what was happening and Jadey's head whipped around to stare at me with wide eyes. She looked back at whom she had pressed against the wall and her eyes widened. She must have only just realised that it was Tori because she immediately let go and quickly put the, now ruined, scissors I got her for Christmas back in her boot.

She put her hand to her forehead, "Kitty, why is _that_ here?" She sighed, pointing over in Tori's general direction. Tori raised an eyebrow at the nickname and her aggression towards her, but didn't comment on anything for fear that she would have a pair of scissors at her throat again. "Well, when you called me we were having lunch in the Asphalt and everyone was there. Tori wanted to come see you and make sure you were okay," I explained. I knew Jadey didn't like Tori, I was there whenever Jade came crying to me because she was losing everything to the Latina. No matter how much anyone else might deny it, I knew Jadey was right. But I also knew Tori didn't mean for any of this to happen and she just wanted to be friends with Jadey.

Jadey shook her head and sighed, taking a seat on my bed again. I joined her and after a moments hesitation, Tori joined us, too. We stared at her, waiting for her to explain where she had been these past couple of months, but she only looked down at her feet, ignoring us. "Where have you been, Jadey? And why are you upset?" I asked, getting impatient. I knew she was upset because she had, once again, used my nickname. And in front of Tori, of all people. She only used that nickname whenever she was upset. "I'm not upset, Cat," she defended, "and I've been in LA the entire time," me and Tori shared a look.

"Wait, you've been in LA this entire time and you didn't think to at least call us?" Tori asked, shocked.

"If I had called you and told you, you would have come looking for me and gotten your precious daddy to trace my cell," Jadey said.

"Jadey, you were declared a missing person. Everyone was looking for you. Where did you hide?" I asked. I was busting to ask more, but I didn't want to overwhelm her. Jadey suddenly took her scissors out of her combat boot and showed them to me. "I'm sorry, Kitty-Kat, I ruined the scissors you got me," her eyes teared up, I knew they were her favourite scissors because they were the same ones used in her favourite movie- The Scissoring. I was extremely proud to say I had bought them for her. "It's okay, Jadey. We'll get them cleaned up and fixed, eh?" I offered, giving her a hug. She tensed up and after a couple of seconds, pushed me away. She nodded her head at the idea of getting her scissors fixed and I smiled.

"Now, you can't avoid this question forever," I told her sternly. I had noticed how she looked away at my question before reaching for her scissors, but I was determined to figure out where she had been hiding. No one just disappears for two months and gets away with it for that long when their face is on nearly every American news channel. "Where were you? You've been gone for nearly three months and we haven't heard from you in those months, so spill," I demanded. No matter what anyone thinks, I'm actually more mature than I let on. My child-like exterior is more of me not wanting to grow up. Being young has its perks, you know?

Jadey shifted on the bed and put her bent and bloodied scissors back in her boot, "oh, you know. Around. Staying at motels until I was recognised, then I the end I bought a bunch of stuff and hid out in the woods near HA," she said. During the entire time, however, she never once looked at me or Tori. I had a feeling she was lying, but I never mentioned it because she had just come back. Maybe not forever, but I didn't want to ruin our hopes at her maybe staying. Tori seemed convinced by Jadey's lie so I went along with it.

Nearly an hour later and me, Jadey, and Tori had decided to have a sleepover. I know Jade said she hadn't come back for sleepovers, but both Tori and I had persuaded her. I guess she must have missed her old life.

 **Jade's POV (before Cat and Tori arrived);**

When I arrived at Cat's nearly two hours before school ended, I let my self in using the key I had been given by Mr and Mrs Valentine. They gave it me a long time ago when I had been showing up at theirs more often than not. I had let Cat know about my father's behaviour when he was drunk and I guess she told her parents so they gave me a key. It was black with small butterflies on it and I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful key, weird as it may sound.

I closed the door behind me after letting myself in and took in the eerie silence. It was a huge change after where I had been... staying. I walked through the house until I found myself in the kitchen. I hadn't realised how hungry I was until I made my way over to the fridge and threw it open. I looked at all of the food in there and realised I was allergic to most of it. I sighed in disappointment and looked for something I could eat. At the back of the fridge there was a container labelled "CAT". I reached in and pulled it out. Inside there was a fruit salad. I opened it up and looked at the fruit in there. There was no pineapple (which I'm allergic to) so I decided I'd have some then put it back- Cat would understand, plus I'll just take her to Freezy Queen later. Maybe.

After scarfing down the fruit salad specifically labelled for Cat, I closed the lid and put the tub in the sink to be washed by her parents later. I had eaten more than I wanted to and now only hoped Kitty-Kat wouldn't be upset.

Picking up my bag which I'd thrown on the floor when I entered the kitchen, I made my way through the empty house and up the stairs to my best friend's room.

When I entered, my eyes were suddenly violated by the bright pink... everything. I had almost forgotten how bright and girly her room was and had to take a moment to let my eyes adjust. The rest of her room certainly wasn't this bright. It was like I had walked straight from a drama TV series into Cat's favourite kid's show- the Waggafuffles.

Rolling my eyes, I noted the silence once again, as I threw my bag onto her bed. It was overwhelming, a drastic change from the past two to three months. I pulled out my new pearphone, the one I bought the other day for the sole purpose of calling Cat should I need to, and connected it to her, also pink, speakers. Scrolling through my Spotify play list, I chose a song (Wrong Side of Heaven by Five Finger Death Punch) and pressed play. It suddenly started playing really loud and I covered my ears. I pitied Cat's family, knowing she would have been playing childish songs such as the Sesame Street Theme Tune and god knows what other songs on this speaker at this volume.

When I had I adjusted to the volume, I uncovered my ears and sighed. Despite the fact that it was my choice to leave, I'm glad I'm back. I missed seeing the people at HA and my little brother. He was, thankfully, staying at my mother's. We couldn't trust him with my dad after what he used to do to me before I left. I stopped thinking of my dad, knowing it would only upset me and lay down on Cat's bed. It was so much more comfortable than my own bed and the dirty blankets I had to sleep on whilst I was away.

I wrapped my arms around my torso and squeezed tight, closing my eyes against the onslaught of memories brought on by that simple thought. There was the sound of smashing glass and my eyes flew open in a panic. I looked around frantically after sitting up, until I realised that the noise had come from the current song that was now playing. I didn't know how low I was lost in my memories but I knew I had missed half of the song that I had first put on.

I lay down on my side and closed my eyes, allowing sleep to take me.

* * *

 **A/N: Next chapter- The Sleepover. Alcohol will be involved and secrets will be revealed, but will Jade tell Cat and Tori where she's really been and what happened to her?**


	3. The Sleepover

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

Chapter Three:

 **Jade's POV;**

I was practically being forced to have a sleepover at Cat's house with her and Vega. I hate sleepovers. Especially if they involve Vega. I would rather have a sleepover with Trina- okay, that's a lie. I would probably murder the older Vega by the end of the night, but still. I do not want to have this sleepover. I specifically told Cat that I didn't come back for sleepovers, but because I needed a place to stay, but she didn't listen to me (like usual). Ugh.

Right now I had Cat sat behind me putting my hair up into a Dutch braid. It had grown a little in the time I was gone so it was looking really nice, especially with my coloured extensions, not that I'd admit that to anyone. Vega was currently raiding Kitty-Kat's cupboard looking for a movie for us to watch- one that wasn't Pixar or Disney. She pulled out Cat's _Titanic_ DVD and showed it to us. I slightly shook my head at her, silently telling her _no._ She nodded in agreement and put the DVD back, continuing to look for another.

When Cat had finished my hair, she stood up with a happy squeal and went to find her hand mirror. She came back with it after finding it in the en suite and handed it me. I took it and looked in the mirror at the new style my hair was in. It, admittedly, looked really pretty. I never used to have my hair up a lot so seeing it like this was a change. A nice one, I think. Looking more intensely in the mirror at my hair, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. At the base of my neck, nearly underneath my ear, was a scar. A long-ish, thick, pink line. I realised that it was something I had gotten when I was away, and Kitty must have seen it, but hadn't said anything. I briefly glanced at the red-head to see her watching me.

I hastily put the mirror down and plastered a smile on my face, pretending I hadn't seen anything, myself. Kitty looked away when I stood up and went over to Vega, pushing her out of the way of the cupboard so she fell on the floor from her crouched position. I ignored her shocked yelp and started rifling through the DVD's. I spotted a particular DVD case and smirked. I pulled it out and showed the other two girls, "The Scissoring," I said, triumphantly. Cat gasped and covered her mouth and Tori blanched.

I laughed and led the way out of the room, down the stairs, to Cat's living room. I didn't need to look back to make sure they were coming, too because I could hear their shuffling footsteps as they joined me in the living room. I crouched down in front of the DVD player and took the disc out, putting it in. I turned the TV on using the remote and pressed play when the movie came up.

"Go get some popcorn and other snacks, Kitty-Kat. And go get blankets, Vega," I ordered, settling myself on the couch.

"Why can't you get the blankets?" Vega argued. I turned away from the opening credits on the TV.

"Because I asked you to get them? Plus, I'm watching this," I heard Tori groan and knew I had won the small argument. Cat had happily gone to get the snacks the second I told her to, but Vega always had to put up a fight.

Cat soon came back with an armful of sweets and crisps, and a huge smile on her pretty little face. I smiled back at her and rolled my eyes, telling her to put them down on the table in front of the TV and the couch I was sitting on. She complied and sat down next to me. "The popcorn is in the microwave, Jadey!" She squealed happily. I cringed at her high-pitched voice. "Good job, Kitty," I ignored the use of my nickname because it made her happy when I didn't scold her for calling me that and I couldn't put up with an upset Cat right now.

Five minutes into the movie and Cat had fetched the popcorn for us when it was done in the microwave. We were happily eating it and watching the movie (it hadn't gotten to the gruesome parts yet, so Cat was alright), when I remembered Vega was supposed to be here. "What's taking Vega so long?" I asked Cat, "she only went to get blankets," I continued.

"I dunno," she said and turned to me with a frown.

"Go see what's happening," I told her, focusing on the movie again.

"KK!" Cat said and hopped off the couch to go find Tori.

 **Tori's POV;**

When I went to get the blankets for Jade, I entered Cat's room. I picked up the blanket from Cat's bed and headed to her closet for some more. I opened it and took out two more from the top shelf. After tidying the ones that fell on my head in my attempt to reach them, I folded the ones in my arm so they would be easier to carry when I was taking them downstairs and I wouldn't trip.

I picked them back up as I was about to go back to Cat and Jade, I saw a bag from the corner of my eye. I briefly glanced at it on my way out. I was in the doorway when I realised that was Jade's bag. I wasn't one for snooping, but Jade had been gone for three months and refused to give any specific details as to where she'd been. She only said she'd been staying at motels and in the forest near HA. I knew it was a lie because if she'd stayed at any motels, they'd have recognised her from the news. And if she was near HA, I think we would have known.

I stood still for a second, debating whether or not I really wanted to go through my (sort of) friend's bag. If she came up, she'd kill me (as she nearly had earlier) and even if she didn't, Cat might. Then again, I could easily convince Cat it was a good idea and I had the best intentions. I sighed at the part of my mind that thought this was a good idea, and put down the three blankets I was holding on the bed.

 **Cat's POV;**

Jadey wanted me to go find Tori because she was taking a long time getting blankets. She knew where the blankets were so I agreed with Jade, she was taking a looong time. I sighed as I ran up the stairs to find my friend.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I walked to the end of the hallway where my room was. The door was open and so was the bathroom door. That meant Tori wasn't using the bathroom as I thought she might have been. I entered my room and saw the blankets on the bed. Confused, I looked around and saw Tori leaning down rummaging through a bag. Upon closer inspection, I realised that bag was Jadey's.

I gasped in shock and Tori suddenly turned around with fear. When she saw it was me, she relaxed a little bit but she still looked guilty. "What are you doing in Jadey's bag?!" I stage whispered.

"I wasn't snooping!" Tori suddenly exclaimed, holding her hands up as if she'd been doing something illegal.

"Yes, you were!" I pointed at the phone she held in her hand without knowing. She looked at it and hid it behind her back.

"Okay, maybe I was. But it's nothing bad! I just wanted to know where she was, she won't tell us, Cat."

"Well she certainly won't now."

"Cat, you can't tell her, she'll hate me."

"She already does," I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing! Anyway, you can't just go through Jadey's stuff. She'll tell us where she's been, when she's ready."

"No, but look, Cat," she held out the phone and pointed at it. "Whose is this phone, huh? It's not Jade's, she has hers with her right now."

"So?" I asked, oblivious to what Tori was implying.

" _So_ Jade must have been with someone when she was away! That's a start to figuring out where she was, right?"

"Why does it matter whether she was with someone? If I ran away, I certainly wouldn't want to be alone."

"Look," Tori walked closer and turned the phone on, practically shoving it in my face. "Does this man look familiar to you?" She asked, pointing out the man on the lockscreen. Confused, I looked closer. She was right, I had never seen that guy in my life. And I'm pretty sure Jade had never showed me him, or even mentioned him. I shook my head, indicating I didn't know who that man was.

Tori smiled and quickly ran back to Jade's bag, putting the phone back. "Okay," she started, "I have an idea. When Jade's asleep tonight, we call Sinjin and get him to hack the phone and download all of the data onto a USB. Then, we come back and return the phone, she'll never know it was missing and we figure out who that man is and why she has his phone," she explained.

"I dunno, Tori," I said, "I feel like we're invading Jadey's privacy."

"Well, of course we are," she agreed, "but it's for the greater good. You wouldn't want Jade to be involved with dangerous people, right?"

"No, of course not!" I shook my head frantically and my eyes widened.

"Good, then we go to Sinjin tonight and figure out who this guy is."

"KK..."

"Let's go back downstairs before Jade gets even more suspicious," Tori picked up the blankets from the bed and led the way back downstairs.

 **Jade's POV;**

I heard Cat and Tori coming back down to the living room, but I didn't dare look away from the TV. It was just getting to the good part of the movie. My eyes were slightly wider and I had a sadistic smirk on my face as I saw Tawny Walker-Black with the scissors I now own, thanks to my favourite red-head.

I felt a weight on my lap and I realised Tori had put a blanket on it, realising I wasn't going to look away from my favourite movie to take it from her. I slowly took some popcorn from the large bowl it was in and put it in my mouth.

"Hey, I just had an idea," I heard Cat exclaim.

"What?" I asked, not looking away from the TV as Tawny threatened her friend.

"We can play spin the bottle!" She happily said.

"That sounds like a good idea," I heard Tori agree. I rolled my eyes and finally turned away from the screen to look at the other two.

"Sure, I'm in," I told them. I paused the movie just as Tawny Walker-Black was about to murder "the pretty girl" as I described her to Vega. I seriously think I have a crush on Tawny Walker-Black. Like, I would marry her if I could. I'm not exactly gay, but I would still marry her. I chuckled out loud and got a look of confusion from Vega. Cat was used to me laughing to myself at my own thoughts, but Vega wasn't. I gave her a sadistic look and she quickly looked away. _That's what I thought._ She probably thought I was plotting against her now. Oh well, maybe I am.

Cat ran off to get an empty bottle and I sat staring at Vega the entire time. She squirmed under my gaze and I smirked in satisfaction. Just the reaction I was looking for. It was so good to be back.

Cat came back with a wine bottle and I wondered where she got an empty wine bottle. I was pretty sure no one in her family drank unless it was a special occasion. Oh well. She pushed everything on the table onto the floor and replaced it with the bottle. I raised my eyebrow at her enthusiasm to play a kid's game, but never commented. "Oh!" She yelled out and ran back into the kitchen to get something. I was confused until she ran back in with alcohol. I smiled.

"Now we're talking," I praised. She squealed at me and placed the two bottles of Jack Daniel's on the table with the wine bottle. It wasn't like Cat to be so hasty to go and drink alcohol, especially something like the drinks she had brought out, but who was I to complain? As long as I got alcohol, I wasn't going to say anything.

Tori looked oddly shocked and I quietly laughed. She probably didn't expect someone like Cat to return with Jack Daniel's for a simple game of spin the bottle. She recovered quickly, though, and replaced her shocked expression with one of amusement.

"Who's starting?" I asked, moving the blanket off my lap and onto the floor so I could sit on it by the table.

"Me! Me!" Cat held her hand up as if waiting to be picked. I rolled my eyes and said she could go first. She spun the bottle and it pointed near Vega so we ruled it out as her. "Truth or dare, Vega?" I said with mock innocence. She looked scared and immediately picked truth. Cat giggled and I thought for a moment, thinking of something to ask her. "Okay, Vega, are you still a virgin?" Her face blushed bright red and she stuttered for a moment as Cat laughed loudly beside her.

"N-no. I'm not a virgin," she admitted regretfully.

"Woww," I drew out, "perfect Tori Vega lost her 'V Card'," I mocked.

"I don't talk like that!" She defended.

"Whatever," I muttered. I actually kind of missed getting under Vega's skin.

Vega reached for the bottle and gave it a spin. It spun rapidly for a few seconds until it slowed down and pointed towards me. I smiled and chose dare. I didn't trust Vega not to ask anything about my running away so I was going to pick dare until those two had, had enough Jack Daniel's to not remember this night. Tori put a finger to her chin in thought, as if thinking of a dare was the hardest task in the world. I glared at her and she took her finger away from her chin, smiling.

"I dare you to down half of that Jack Daniel's," she said and crossed her arms. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open a little bit.

"Are you serious?!" I asked in disbelief.

"Yep," she popped the 'p' and pointedly looked at one of the bottles before looking at me again.

"Fine," I grumbled. I didn't want to forfeit one of _Vega's_ dares and end up looking like a coward. So I reached for one of the bottles from the table and, despite Cat's warning not to, I opened the bottle. I held it under my nose as I smelled it. I scrunched up my nose at the smell and took a breath. Putting the bottle to my lips, I started drinking. I took it away from my mouth quarter of the way through so I could breathe, but ended up coughing instead. When I'd gathered my bearings, I continued to drink another quarter of the bottle until half of it was gone.

When I took the bottle away from my mouth I started coughing again. It slightly burned my throat, but because of all of the parties I'd been to with Beck in the past, I could sort of handle it. Not that he usually let me order Jack Daniel's, he was too worried I'd do something stupid like hook up with another dude or make a fool of myself. And people thought I was the jealous one.

I groaned in distaste at the drink and I swear I saw Vega's eyes flash in concern for a moment before she applauded me completing my dare. I sarcastically grinned at her and, quite loudly, put the bottle back on the table. Cat squeaked, yes, squeaked, when I put it down rather forcefully. I rolled my eyes and reached for the bottle to spin it.

 **Cat's POV;**

We had now been playing truth or dare for at least an hour and Jadey was starting to get a little too drunk. Me and Tori had, had some Jack Daniel's but nowhere near as much as Jade. She was now leaning on the glass coffee table for support in case she fell. I sighed, almost regretting getting out the alcohol. But I knew Jadey would want alcohol if she was going to get through this sleepover.

I span the bottle and it landed on Jadey. I clapped happily and looked over to Tori. Jadey stared at the bottle as if it had betrayed her and I laughed at how dramatic she was. She chose truth before nearly falling over. I mimicked Tori from earlier and put a finger to my chin in thought. Jade groaned loudly, expressing her annoyance, but I continued to think. I soon came to the conclusion that this was the perfect opportunity to ask about where she had been.

"Jadey, I ask you," I dramatically started, "where you really where when you ran away."

"Pass," she said straight away.

"You- you can't pass, Jade," Tori pointed out.

"I can do whatever I like, _Vega_ ," she enunciated.

"Just answer the question, Jadey," I said.

"No. I went to a few- a few motels and stayed near HA," she repeated her lie from earlier, tripping over her words due to the intoxication.

"No you didn't, Jadey. I know when you're lying, you can't look people in the eyes," I told her.

"No I don't," she denied.

"Yes you do."

"Shut up. Whatever, it's none of your business where I was. Why are you so interested anyway?"

"We just want to make sure you were safe," Tori butted in.

"Well, miss perfect Tori Vega, I was perfectly fine," Jade told Tori, using her southern bell accent.

"If you were perfectly fine, why don't you tell us where you were?" Tori pressured.

"Cause I don't want to," I could see Jadey struggling to keep her eyes open so I told Tori we should just leave her be and let her sleep. She agreed and we both helped my bestie up the stairs to my room.

When we got there, we practically had to drag her over to my bed and throw her on. She grunted when we accidentally made her hit her head on the headboard. "Sorry, Jadey," I apologised quickly then, with Tori's help, we straightened her up. Tori ran back down the stairs to get the blanket and bring it back for Jadey. She threw it over Jade and we quietly backed out of the room, turning the lights off for her so she could get to sleep.

Both me and Tori, now without Jade, made our way back to the messy living room. "I just remembered," I said, "Jadey's still in her clothes from today."

"What, did you want us to undress her and put her in her jammies?!" Tori asked.

"No, but she might be uncomfortable..." I trailed off. I knew I was just stalling going to Sinjin's, but now that I thought about it, Jade might not get to sleep in her clothes and won't be able to change because she's too drunk. Tori sighed heavily, "we're not changing Jade, Cat. Now, you wait here whilst I go get the phone and then we can got to Sinjin's."

"KK," I dejectedly said.

* * *

 **A/N: And another chapter done- The Sleepover! I was hoping to make it a little funnier, but I'm not that funny so..**

 **Anyways, leave a review and tell me where you think Jade really was when she ran away.**


	4. Chapter Four

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

Chapter Four:

 **Tori's POV;**

Both me and Cat checked on Jade before I grabbed the phone and we silently crept out of the house, locking the door behind us. Jiggling the handle to make sure it was locked, I nodded to Cat in confirmation. We both then ran down her driveway, quietly giggling, and reached her car. Getting in, Cat sat in the driver's seat whilst I sat in the passenger's (I didn't see the old lady). She started it up and slowly pulled away from the curb, driving off.

Whilst Cat was focused on driving and telling me about one of her brother's many 'misfortunes', I took the unknown person's phone and looked at the lock screen. The man on it was a weird looking one. He was slightly balding on top and had tan skin. He smiled at the camera, showing almost perfect teeth. The man wasn't exactly large, then again, he wasn't that small either.

In the background of the photo, you could see a woman who looked to be around his own age. She wasn't facing the camera, but you could see she had black hair cut into a bob. You couldn't see her forehead even though from the angle you should have been able to so I guessed she had bangs. Both people on the lock screen were stood in a dark room, maybe a room in their house. However, it was kind of strange that they would be stood in there in the dark.

I sighed, putting the phone away in my back pocket and looked out of the windscreen. I noticed we were pulling up to a private road and realised we were practically outside of Sinjin's now. I must have been analysing the picture longer than I noticed.

I waited for Cat to park the car before unbuckling my seatbelt, along with Cat. We both exited the car and as I made my up the pathway to Sinjin's house, Cat locked the car and trailed behind me. She hummed a merry tune to herself and I had to resist the strong urge to roll my eyes at her child-like nature.

We arrived at the door and I immediately rang the doorbell. Waiting on the doorstep, I pulled out the phone whilst we waited for the door to open. Cat continued humming until the door opened and there, stood in the doorway, was Sinjin in cookie monster pyjamas. I stifled a laugh at his normally messy hair being even more unkempt. Cat giggled beside me and I eventually smiled.

"W-what are you doing here?" Sinjin stuttered in shock. I guess he wasn't used to the 'main people' showing up at his house.

"We kind of need your help, Sinjin," I told him.

"I like where this is going," he said.

"I do not," I replied, grabbing his arm and letting myself into his house. Cat followed with another laugh, closing the door. I let go of Sinjin and he led both me and Cat upstairs to his room. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough for one teenage boy to live in. The walls were dark blue and had a few posters on them. Against the wall opposite the door was a double bed. It wasn't made so I knew me and Cat had woken Sinjin.

"So, what did you need my help with, 'Tor-ay'?" Sinjin asked, taking a seat on his bed and leaning back a little.

"Not that kind of help, Sinjin!" I scolded in disgust. He quickly sat up straight, embarrassed.

"We need you to hack a phone and download the data on a USB, please," Cat informed him.

"Oh. I can do that," he said. He stood up from his bed and walked over to me, "so where's the phone?" I took the blue pearphone out from my back pocket and handed it over. He looked at it briefly then walked over to his desk in the corner of his room. "This might take a while so make yourself at home," he spoke. Me and Cat warily sat down on his bed, looking at each other. Maybe we should have found someone else who can hack...

* * *

 **Cat's POV;**

Me and Tori were at Sinjin's house for at least four hours before he had successfully hacked the phone and downloaded all of the data onto a spare USB. There wasn't a lot of data on there, but Sinjin promised there was some interesting stuff. We both gratefully thanked him and put together one hundred dollars in gratitude.

Leaving the house, we ran to my car and headed straight home. It was now around five am and I prayed Jadey was still asleep. She always woke up early. I told Tori that we should stop off at the store and buy some snacks so if Jadey _was_ awake we had an excuse. I'm smarter than I look. Hehe.

We stopped off at the store and bought a bunch of snacks, then went to Jetbrew and got us all some drinks. A black coffee with two sugars for Jadey, a latte for Tori, and a hot cocoa for me. I love hot cocoa- it's so warm and chocolatey. Yummy.

When we got home, it was just coming up to six am. I breathed a sigh of relief when we entered the house and it was silent, that meant Jade wasn't awake. I think. Me and Tori walked through the house, to the kitchen. I stopped in the doorway, Tori bumping into me. There, asleep with her head on the table, was Jadey. Oops. I looked back at Tori and we both nodded. Silently, we crept to the other side of the kitchen where we put the snacks and drinks on the table.

I smiled at out success of not waking Jade- she can be real grumpy in the morning (especially if she's woken up). We now only had an hour to get ready for school. I guess we'll just have to be late. Me and Tori started making our way back through the kitchen when I tripped over. I let out a yell before I landed with a _thud._ Oh no. Jade shot up from her sleeping position and then immediately fell off her stall, joining me on the floor. She looked around wildly in shock until she realised she had merely been woken up and fallen off her stall.

Jadey growled in annoyance and got up from the cold, marble floor, brushing off imaginary dirt from her clothes. I briefly noted she had gotten changed. She looked back down to see me smiling guiltily up at her. "Morning, Jadey," I greeted with a wave.

"Where were you this morning? I woke up and you were gone," she stated, crossing her arms. Not a good sign.

"We went to Jetbrew and got some snacks from the store," Tori said, putting her hand in her back pocket to hide the phone.

"What did you get?" Jadey questioned. I got up off the floor and ran over to the drinks and food.

"A coffee for you- black, two sugars, a latte for Tori, a hot-"

"Give me my coffee," Jadey interrupted. I pouted and picked up her coffee to give it to her. She snatched it from my hand and started gulping it down.

"Uh, Jade, I think you should slow down. Isn't it dangerous to drink coffee like that?" Tori pointed out.

"Listen, Vega, I haven't had Jetbrew coffee- the good coffee- in almost three months, so don't try and tell me to slow down."

"Okay then..."

"Anyways, aren't you going to be late to school?"

"OMG, yes!" I squealed and ran passed both Tori and Jade to get to my room.

* * *

 **Jade's POV;**

I think Vega was right. Not only was I feeling the effects of a hangover, I was feeling the effect of this coffee, too. I heavily exhaled when my heart practically missed a beat. Ah, I missed Jetbrew coffee so much.

Cat and Tori ran back down the stairs changed into different clothes with their bags on their shoulders. Cat looked nice, Vega looked okay-ish. "I'll be back later, Jadey, don't trash my house!" Cat yelled as she opened the front door.

"Wait!" I called out just as she and Tori were about to leave. "I'm coming with you, let me just go get my bag," I said.

"You're coming with us? To school?" Vega asked.

"Yes, I do go there, you know. Problem?" I growled just as I reached the staircase.

"No, not at all. I mean, this is good. It'll be great to have you back," she stuttered. I rolled my eyes and ran up the stairs to go get my bag.

I returned a few seconds later with my bag on my shoulder and barged passed Vega and Cat to get to the car. "I'm driving," I called back to them. I heard Kitty call out "KK," as I got into the driver's seat. Vega looked like she was having a moral dilemma and I was reminded of the time she needed a ride to school. "Hey, Kitty, do you have the shovel?" I asked Cat. I saw Tori blanch and I quietly laughed to myself. Cat was confused, looking for a shovel until I had to tell her it didn't matter.

The drive was a long one, especially listening to Cat going on and on about stuff I didn't care about. My fingers tightened on the wheel when I drove into the HA carpark. Just a few more seconds and I'd be out of this car. I parked in an empty space and as quick as I could, unbuckled my seatbelt and practically threw myself out of the car. Freedom.

I locked the car when Cat and Vega were out, and threw the keys to Cat. "I need a goddamn coffee," I told them as I started walking towards Festus' truck. "Meet me by my locker," I ordered, knowing they were still watching me.

* * *

 **Beck's POV;**

I was waiting beside Tori's locker anxiously. After our conversation yesterday in the Asphalt I had barely gotten any sleep- I couldn't stop thinking about Jade. I thought about all of the great times we had, had, even the bad times. Whether good or bad, they were precious to me and I couldn't stop thinking about her. I just really want to see her, make sure she's okay, hold her in my arms and tell her everything is going to be ok, and that's I'll never leave her again.

I was dragged from my thoughts by Andre and Robbie (and Rex) coming up to me. "Hey, man, how you doin'?" Andre questioned, a serious expression on his face. I knew what he meant when he asked me that. He was concerned for my wellbeing and wondering how this entire situation was taking its toll on me. "I'm fine," I answered, "just waiting for Cat and Tori. Remember, they had a sleepover with Jade last night."

"Hah. I bet they did," Rex said.

"Rex!" Robbie yelled at his puppet. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, wait no longer, here they come," Andre said with a laugh. I quickly turned my head in the direction of the doors to see the two girls heading towards us. I breathed a sigh of relief, I don't think I could have waited any longer.

When both girls were with us, they greeted us happily as Tori went through her locker and swapped few books- putting back the ones she didn't need and taking the ones she did. Cat conversed with us happily as we waited for Tori to finish. I impatiently tapped my foot on the floor when Tori dropped a book and had to pick it up. It was taking everything in me not to scream at her, asking where Jade was and how she was doing.

"Finally," I said when Tori closed her locker.

"What's wrong with you, Mr Grumpy Face?" She questioned as she started walking in the direction of Jade's locker.

"I just want to know how Jade's doing."

"Well then, you'll be happy to know she's doing great," Tori stated. She and Cat stopped right next to Jade's locker. I was confused.

"Why are we stopping here?"

"We're waiting for Jade," Cat giggled. Me, Andre, and Robbie looked at each other.

"Wait, Jade's coming here?" Andre inquired.

"Yep!"

"But I thought she wasn't going to come back?" Robbie said.

"That's what we thought, too, but when we were about to leave for school, she just randomly told us she was coming, as well," Tori informed.

"That's right," we heard. My heart almost stopped in my chest when I heard that voice. The voice I had been wanting to hear for the past two and a half months. The voice belonging to the girl I love more than anyone else, even if she didn't believe it. Me, Andre, and Robbie turned on the spot to see her behind us. She took with a huge cup of coffee in her hands, her Gears of War bag slung over her shoulder, dark red highlights in her hair, and her usual style of clothing. It almost looked like she hadn't changed one bit. That is, to everyone else it looked that way. But me, I know Jade, and I know when she's hiding something- when she's hurting, even. And right now, she is both hiding something and hurting.

"Oh my god! You witch," I heard. I was dragged out of my thoughts by Rex yelling about his arm. It seemed Jade had already amputated Rex. For what, I don't know, I wasn't listening. I saw Andre pull her in for a hug, telling her how much he and everyone else had missed her. It's true. Right now, everyone in the hallway was staring at Jade, whispering about her sudden return and how they were actually glad she had come back.

It was then my turn to welcome Jade back, but it seemed the words were stuck in my throat. Building up, ready to come out any moment, but they wouldn't. She stared at me with a raised eyebrow when it looked like I was going to say something but I didn't. I coughed. "Sorry," I apologised for acting like a moron. "It's great to have you back, Jade. I missed you," I whispered the last part, letting her, and only her, know how much I really missed her.

I was completely gobsmacked when she rushed toward me and pulled me in for a hug. She put her arms around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. I tilted my head as I wrapped my own arms around her, holding her close and hoping to never let go. I breathed in her scent, for the first time realising she no longer smelled like a mix of vanilla and coffee, but of nothing. She smelled of nothing. I hummed to myself in confusion until my thoughts were interrupted, yet again, but this time by, "good Ghandi!"

I pulled away from her, and she did the same, to look over in the direction the shout had come from. Sikowitz stood to my right, obviously heading to class, with his mouth open and a coconut in his hand. "Jade?!" He exclaimed. She chuckled and merely nodded. Sikowitz took a short step forward until Jade scoffed and closed the distance between them, pulling her only real father figure into a hug. Our teacher wrapped his own arms around her in relief.

Despite what people may think, Jade and Sikowitz had some kind of understanding. She didn't actually dislike him and he actually thought of her, and us, as one of his own. She had admitted to me at some point, around a year ago, how she felt about Sikowitz. She had said that he was more of a father to her than her own father. I couldn't help but agree. Sikowitz was more than just a friend to all of us. He was like some kind of crazy, embarrassing, bare foot father.

They both pulled away from each other and Sikowitz smiled, ecstatic, at her. He took a sip from his coconut before running off towards classroom. "That was weird," Rex pointed out. Yes, it was weird.

* * *

In first period, which we luckily had with Sikowitz, we all sat in our normal seats. Jade sat next to me, Cat in front of her, Tori next to her, and Andre and Robbie next to each other. The other seats were filled out with the "shruggers". I smiled when Jade leaned into my side. I put my arm around her and sighed, content. We weren't exactly back together, but it seemed we were on good terms. Jade must have forgiven me and gotten over her jealousy issues. Maybe. She must have had a lot of time to think if she was no longer worried about Tori.

"Okay, children!" Sikowitz yelled, "I would first like to welcome back Jadelyn West!" He did a dramatic turn before finally facing our way and pointed towards Jade.

"Don't ever call me that again," Jade told him in a low voice. She sounded more serious and angry than usual, but I let it go.

"Wait, your real name is Jadelyn?" Tori turned around in her seat to look at Jade.

"Yeah, what about it, Vega?"

"Nothing, I was only asking. I just didn't expect someone like you to be called Jadelyn."

"'Someone like me'?" She repeated, leaning forward in her seat.

"I-I didn't mean anything bad by that!" Tori defended and held her arms up in surrender.

"Alright! Now stop that, you two! Jade, you've been back five minutes and you're already bullying Tori again," Sikowitz interrupted.

"You started it!" Jade said.

"I started it?"

"Yeah, you called me Jadelyn and got _its_ interest," she said, pointing at Tori when she said "its".

"That's not my fault."

"Stop it!" I ordered. Tori, Sikowitz, and Jade looked my way. "Sorry, it's just- like Sikowitz said- you've been back five minutes and you're already arguing with people, Jade. And, Tori, yes her name is Jadelyn. Nothing wrong with that. Sikowitz, just don't call her than in the future," I finished. Tori leaned back in her seat, Sikowitz stood back on stage, and Jade returned to my arm.

It's going to take a while to get used to having Jade back, I decided.


	5. Chapter Five

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

 **A/N:** _Italics_ **indicate text for this chapter.**

Chapter Five:

 **Jade's POV;**

School was so boring. I don't know why I decided I wanted to go back. I guess it had something to do with wanting closure. I don't know. During the day Sinjin came up to me and actually thought it was a good idea to hug me whilst shouting how much he missed me. I had to hurt him for that.. Haha. I actually kind of regret it, though. I know he was a creep and all, but he missed me and was ecstatic that I was back and all I could do was trap him to his locker by his hair. Anyway, Trina came up to me, too, but all she did was smile and welcome me back. I nodded at her and walked away. I didn't exactly like her, but whilst I was away I had a lot of time to think so I tolerate her now and it seems she tolerates me, too.

I had history with Beck and Cat and neither of them would stop talking to me so that was annoying. I had English with Tori and Beck and, unfortunately, my seat was in between the two. Then lunch was uneventful, I just ate a little salad and threw the rest away, choosing to just enjoy my fourth coffee of the day. My last two lessons were music with Tori, Cat, and Andre. That was okay because it seemed everyone had finally gotten over the fact that I was back.

Now, however, I was stuck at Tori's with her and the others, including Trina, playing cards. When school had ending, everyone had decided they wanted to hang out and "celebrate" my return. I was actually getting sick of all of the attention. Before I left, I might have enjoyed it, but now- now I hated it.

I sat at the circular table with every, staring at my own cards. I seemed to have forgotten how to play the game because I had now idea whether or not my cards were good. I must have hit my head hard when- no. I won't think of that whilst I'm with everyone else. I don't know whether I'll start crying or just zone out. Both of those seemed to be happening a lot lately.

I sighed, "I'm just gonna get a drink," I told them, standing up from my seat and going to the counter in the middle of the kitchen area. I grabbed the jug containing pink lemonade and refilled my glass with shaky hands. When the glass was half full, I had to put the glass jug down because my hands were starting to shake violently. I could feel one of the others watching me. I didn't know which one, but I assumed it was either Cat, Tori, or Beck. I breathed in heavily through my nose, then exhaled through my mouth.

Plastering a fake smile on my face, I turned around with my half full glass and returned to my seat to play cards with the few rules I remembered.

 **Beck's POV;**

I watched Jade with curiosity. She was sat across from me, looking at her cards with complete confusion. As if she didn't know how to play at all, even though she was the best player out of all of us. She suddenly claimed she was getting a drink. An excuse to get away from the game, I realised. She really couldn't remember how to play.

I continued watching her as she poured pink lemonade into a glass. Her hands shook violently and it looked like she was about to drop the jug. As I was about to get up and confront her, she placed the jug down and leaned her hands on the counter. She took a deep breath and let it out before picking up her glass and turning around with a smile on her face.

Jade moved back to her seat and sat down, placing her glass down on the side of the table. She picked her cards back up from their face-down position on the table and looked at them. Her confusion returned and she sighed, picking up the glass and taking a tentative sip. She coughed and sat up straight in her seat. Since when did Jade care about sitting properly? She always slouched in her seat. If she wasn't slouched in a seat, then there was something wrong. It's odd how much being away for three months can change someone.

I took out my phone when everyone else was distracted by the game and opened up my contacts. I scrolled through them all until I found Jade's new contact. We had exchanged numbers in school today seeing as she had gotten a new phone whilst away. I selected the message option and typed " _U_ _don't remember how to play?"_ When her phone vibrated, I watched her put her cards down and take it out. She read my message and looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. " _Who said that?"_ She replied.

" _Honestly, it's obv. U look so confused when u look at ur cards."_

" _I know how to play, Beck._ "

 _"_ _Sure u do."_

" _Okay, fine. Maybe I may have forgotten a few rules. What the hell do they mean when they say "fold"?!"_

" _Just tell Tori ur gonna sit this 1 out and we can all watch a movie when this game's over."_

" _They'll know something's up."_

" _No they won't. Trust me."_

 _"Ugh fine."_

She put her phone away and quickly told Tori she was done playing for now. Tori cheerfully replied with an "okay," and continued playing, making some kind of bet with Robbie. Jade got up, picking up her glass, and walked over to the main kitchen area. "You know, I think I'm gonna sit this one out, too," I said, putting my cards down and getting up from my seat.

Everyone else nodded their heads and looked at each other with some kid of knowing glance. I ignored them and walked over to Jade who was staring out of the window with a distant look. I walked closer and gently put my hand on her shoulder. She almost jumped out of her skin as she whirled around to see who had touched her, dropping and smashing the glass at the same time.

When she smashed the glass, I immediately took a step back as the pink lemonade pooled around her feet. She looked at me with wild eyes before slowly looking down at the, now broken, glass. She moved her head up to see the others looking at us both with confused and shocked expressions.

Trina stood up from her chair and walked over to us, glaring at Jade, "what the hell are you doing?!" She asked, loudly.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Jade stuttered, looking at Trina with a terrified expression.

""Didn't mean to"? That's one of my mom's favourite glasses- they're part of a set, you clutz!"

"Trina, leave her alone. Mom will understand. Jade didn't mean to," Tori interrupted.

"Yeah, and it's my fault anyway. I startled her," I said.

"I'm sorry," Jade repeated, crouching down to pick up the glass shards.

"You'd better be. And make sure to get every last piece, idiot," Trina said as she pointed down at the glass.

"Trina, stop it. Can't you see she's already picking it up. She didn't mean to break it. It's just a stupid glass anyway," Tori told her sister. They both started arguing, one claiming it's just a glass, the other saying they weren't just glasses, that they were expensive. I vaguely noticed Jade had stopped picking up the glass and now held two separate pieces in either hand as she stared ahead, unseeing. The pink lemonade had soaked into her black stockings, but she didn't seem to care.

I quickly moved Trina back when she took a threatening step towards Tori. "Guys, stop it. Tori's right, it's just one glass. You have a bunch more, you won't miss this one," I told her. She glared at me, but backed off anyway. Hers and Tori's staring contest was broken when there was a soft sobbing from by my feet. I looked down to see Jade crying into her hands, still holding the two pieces of glass. With each sob, her shoulders shook, bringing the glass closer to her face each time.

I looked around at everyone else, seeing they had all gotten up and were now crowding around me, Trina, Tori, and Jade. I opened and closed my mouth a few times in confusion until Andre nudged me and I came to my senses. I knelt down in front of her and moved her hands away from her eyes, getting the glass away from her face being my first priority.

"I'm sorry," Jade whispered, repeating herself for the third time. "I-it was an accident, I didn't mean to break it," she went back to picking up the pieces of glass, but with each shard, her hand seemed to be wanting to grasp something bigger than mere glass. "Jade, are you okay?" I carefully asked. Stupid question, I know, but she was looking so out of it, I didn't know what else to say.

"I'm sorry, I'll clean it up," she merely said, ignoring my question.

"Jade, leave the glass for now," I ordered. She reluctantly let go of the glass she had in her hands, letting it fall to he floor, but remained facing the floor. I took both of her hands in mine and tried to get her to look at me, but she wouldn't so I let it go. "I'm sorry, I'll do better next time, I promise," she whispered, starting to pick up the glass again.

I looked at the others in shock until there was a small gasp next to me. I turned back to Jade to see she had cut her hand on the glass. She stared at it in pain, however went back to picking up the rest without complaint. I took her wrists and practically dragged her up. She let go of the glass when I made her stand up so I was thankful for that. I didn't mean to force her to stand like that, but I was just in shock because of her behaviour and she wouldn't leave the glass alone so I had to do something.

"Jade, what's wrong with you? Listen to me. Jade? Jade?" I addressed her like that until she blinked harshly and looked around at everyone stood around us, then at the glass. She yanked her wrists out of my grasp and rubbed them. It seemed I was holding them tighter than I realised. They would surely bruise- Jade bruises easily.

"Stop looking at me!" Jade yelled, making Cat squeal and run back to the cards table, followed by Robbie, Andre, and Trina. She glared at Tori until the half Latina reluctantly left to join the others. She turned back to me, "what?"

"What was that?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"What was what?" She retorted and put her hands in her back pocket nonchalantly.

" _That._ With the glass and the constant apologising," I harshly whispered just in case the others were listening.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied.

"Fine," I relented. It was easier to just let it go because I knew there was no way Jade was going to give in so quickly. I just needed more proof before I could confront her without her denying everything.

* * *

 **Jade's POV;**

I don't know what happened when I dropped the glass. One minute I was looking out of the window with it in my hand, the next my wrists were in Beck's grasp and he was staring at me as if I had gone and murdered his puppy in front of him. Beck helped me clean up the glass and lemonade, however, when he learned I wasn't going to say anything. Especially since I don't know anything, myself. But he didn't know that.

We were going to watch a movie now, anyway. I threw myself on one of the Vega's red couches- the closest to the door- and rested my feet on it. I waited patiently for Vega to pick a movie and glared at Beck when he moved my feet so he could sit next to me. Cat quickly occupied the space on the other side of me and rested her head on my shoulder. I didn't have the energy to yell at her or push her away. It must have been hard for Cat when I left and I felt guilty about my selfish actions.

"Hey, why don't we watch _Split_? It's a new horror movie, it came out, like, a couple years ago or something," Trina suggested when the other Vega scrolled past it with her remote. I immediately sat up. I hadn't watched that movie, but I'd heard what other people had said about it. I really didn't want to watch it.

"Can we watch another movie?" I asked, hoping we could. "I mean, what about Cat?" I continued when I got confused looks.

"It's okay, Jadey, I want to watch this movie," Cat told me. Damn. Since when does Cat like horror movies, anyway?

"Fine," I sighed. Vega put the movie on and went over to the other red couch, taking a seat next to Andre as the movie started playing. Looking around, no one had their eyes on me so I closed my own, trying to go to sleep as the movie played.

Five minutes passed and I still wasn't asleep. I quietly groaned and opened my eyes to see the movie. Beck now had his arm resting on the back of the couch behind me, having noticed I was going to sleep. I looked to him and he back. I raised an eyebrow, but he merely shrugged with a smile. I quickly looked away when I felt myself smiling, too.

* * *

Now a little over half an hour into the movie and Cat still had her head on my shoulder but she was asleep. Ugh, lucky. Beck still had his arm behind me so I leaned into him for comfort.

I glanced at the TV but quickly looked away, "I don't want to watch this movie," I whispered to Beck. A single tear made its way down my face but I wiped it away as quick as it appeared. "Why not? Love horror," he whispered back.

"I just... don't, okay? I think I'm going to go home," I told him.

"What? Why? It's just a movie."

"Well, I don't like it," I picked up my back and rushed out of the front door before anyone could say anything.

I ran as fast as I could down Vega's drive way and stopped when I was a few feet away. I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up so I held my stomach and covered my mouth with an, "oh god." I turned to the trash can next to me and held the sides as I emptied the contents of my stomach in it. I stood hunched over the trash can for a few more seconds after I'd stopped, just to make sure.

Positive I wasn't going to throw up again, I straightened up and took a deep breath, wiping my mouth. "I think you should come back inside," I heard. I turned around to see Beck. His expression held concern and confusion, but nonetheless he held his hand out for me to take. I hesitantly took it and allowed him to lead me back to Vega's house.

The second I stepped through the door, I was surrounded by the others. They bombarded me with questions such as; "what happened?", "why did you run off?", and "are you okay?" I just pushed my way through them and returned to my seat on Vega's couch. I guess I looked like a mess. My eyes were red from throwing up and my skin was paler than usual.

Beck sat next to me and Cat resumed her position by my side, but this time she hugged me rather than resting her head on my shoulder. I used one arm to return the hug as the other held my stomach.

"What happened, Jadey? Why are you upset?" Cat asked. I don't know why, but Kitty-Cat always seemed to know when I was upset. Whether I showed it or not, she knew. I put my hand on her head as she hugged me, some kind of maternal instinct taking over as the child-like red-head kept me close to her.

I looked at the TV screen, noting that the movie was paused. I sighed, "I may have lied to you guys," I started. They looked at each other in confusion and listened intently. "I sort of _didn't_ stay at motels when I was away."

"Then where did you go?" Vega asked suspiciously, being the first to recover. I cast a glance at them all, and started telling the story to them of where I'd been.


	6. Chapter Six

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

 **A/N: OOC Trina in this chapter, oops.**

Chapter Six:

 **Tori's POV;**

Jade took a deep breath, fiddling with the sleeves of her black cotton sweater. She looked around as we waited patiently for her to tell us where she'd been the past two and a half months. "So, when I left LA, I took some of my dad's money and my car, but it ran out of gas on the side of a road. I ditched it and started walking," she started then took another deep breath.

We were all listening intently and Cat was still hugging Jade. She had her eyes closed, but I knew she was listening to her best friend- she was 'imagining' the scene. Beck was also next to Jade but he wasn't hugging her. He was just sitting next to her on the couch, giving her the space he knew she wanted despite the fact that she was letting Cat hug her. The rest of us, including Trina, were stood around the room.

"I didn't have enough money for a motel- apparently I didn't take enough," she rolled her eyes and scoffed. "So I just found some abandoned building to stay in for the night whilst I figured out what I was going to do." I felt bad for her. She stole money from her father and it still wasn't enough to find a suitable place to stay for the night. Then, she stayed in an abandoned building where it would be freezing cold, dusty, and lonely. She really had it rough. But then again, we still haven't heard the rest of the story. The story that she was reluctant to talk about in the first place.

Jade coughed to clear her throat and shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "I stayed in the abandoned building for, like, three days before I left to go find some café or some place to eat at," she said, shifting again. She seemed awfully fidgety, I noted. "I just walked around San Diego for a while until it was night and I had to go back to the building I was staying in," she sniffled and Beck put his hand on her shoulder to encourage her to go on. "When I was on my way back, I 'met' some guy... We got to talking and I told him about my situation."

"He felt bad for me and offered me a place to stay. At first I didn't accept because I didn't know him, but he insisted and I eventually agreed. He was so nice, I felt I couldn't refuse, you know?" I felt myself nodding even though she wasn't looking at me. As she spoke, I silently wondered how this could have been so bad?

"About a week into me staying with him, we started dating. It was nice at first because he was so kind and caring, and patient. But a few days later, it was like a button had been pressed and he changed."

She took a shaky breath and wiped away her first tear since she began talking. This time, Beck did put an arm around her and she leant her head on his shoulder.

"Take your time, Jade. You can tell us anything," André said. She smiled, but it quickly vanished when she continued her story.

"He got really controlling, he would sometimes grab me or shake me violently. He even hit me on a few occasions. I was forced to be his little servant, he would make me clean everything up and if I didn't, he would get angry.

"One time.. he forced me to be with him," she whispered and closed her eyes. I put a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp. "That was the final straw for me, though. I couldn't take it anymore so I ran away during the night. I stole his parent's phone, they lived across the road from him."

At this, me and Cat shared a look. That must have been the same phone I found in Jade's bag.

"I'd only seen his parents a couple of times, but they were about as shady as he was," she said. "After I ran away from him, I soon found out I was pregnant."

Both me and Cat looked at her with wide eyes. We'd played truth or dare with alcohol yesterday. That means she's not pregnant anymore, so...

"Jade... You drank an entire bottle of Jack Daniel's yesterday... What happened to the baby?" I slowly asked.

She couldn't even speak before she leant forward and put her head in her hands, letting out truly heartwrenching sobs.

There was no need for her to say anything else, we all suddenly got it. She didn't just lose her baby, she got rid of it. As much as I wanted to judge her for her decision, I just couldn't. She's one of my best friends and she'd been through hell. And to have a reminder of that hell, even an innocent reminder... It must have been painful, she must have been confused, and hurt, and lonely.

Beck took Jade in his arms and held her as she cried, giving her the comfort she deserved in her time of need.

 **A/N: Wow, I finally got this chapter done.. I procrastinate too much.**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

Chapter Seven:

 **Jade's POV;**

I walked into Hollywood Arts for my second day back. I don't think people have quite gotten used to me being back, but they had calmed down a bit. I stayed at Cat's last night, per the arrangement, but honestly, she is so annoying. I'm grateful she let me stay though, and of course her parents didn't mind.

After the whole confession last night at Vega's house, I'm trying to avoid everyone. It's sort of impossible to avoid Cat, but at least I know she won't pester me about what I'd said. She has the attention span of a fish.

Thankfully after what I'd told them, they didn't ask for more details. There was a lot I still didn't tell them, but I'd told them the main stuff so they let me and Cat leave.

Walking up to my locker with everyone's eyes on me made me anxious, but I held my head high and input the code when I got there. I had to be quick because Robbie's locker is next to mine and I didn't want to face his pitying look or Rex's snide comments about the Wicked Witch returning to Oz.

After swapping a few books and putting some others in the locker, I closed and locked it, ready to walk off. However, as I turned around, I came face to face with none other than Beck. I had the almost irresistable urge to scream. If I thought seeing Cat or Vega was bad, Beck was worse.

He gave me an awkward smile and I tried to return it as best as I could, but I'm sure it looked more like a grimace. His light chuckle confirmed my suspicions. I rolled my eyes and attempted to move around him and head to class, but he grabbed my wrist, stopping me from leaving.

I turned around and glared at him, pulling my wrist from his grasp. "What do you want?" I asked. A little harsher than intended, but who cares? "I wanted to know how you were doing," he stated, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "I'm fine," I told him and turned to make a quick exit, but he grabbed my wrist again.

I pulled my wrist from him again, and turned around. "What?" I growled. If he keeps grabbing me, I'm going to hit him. "Are you really 'fine'?" He questioned. Obviously he saw through my façade, I scoffed to myself. "Yes. Now if that's all, I need to get to class," I stated. Just as I said that, the warning bell rang. It seems the Heaven's are favouring me today.

With a nod from him, I took my leave. Finally. Despite the fact that we're in the same class first period today, he watched me leave before coming in the same direction as me. He used to always do this when we'd had an argument. It's sad that we argued enough for it to become a routine.

oOoOoOo

 **Beck's POV;**

After talking to Jade this morning, my thoughts from last night were confirmed. There was something else she wasn't telling us. The others may have believed that what she told us last night was all there was to it, but I know Jade more than any of them. And she was holding something back.

All it took was one short conversation with her and I already know there's something else. It'll take a bit of convincing and making up, but I hope to find out what she's still hiding. As much as I miss her and want to get back with her, her wellbeing comes first. I'll have to put my previous plans of getting back together on hold.

When I walked into Biology class, my eyes immediately drifted to Jade. She was sat in her old seat by the one way windows. Just like before she ran away, her eyes stayed glued looking out of the windows. She was actually very good at all kinds of science, but she couldn't care less about it which is why, every lesson, she chose to stare out of the windows rather than listen to the teacher.

I took my seat on the other side of the class room next to Robbie. It was only us in three in this class. Unfortunately Cat didn't get good enough grades to continue doing science, Tori joined too late, and André chose to do Chemistry instead of Biology.

In Hollywood Arts, it was mandatory to some kind of science and you got the choice on which you wanted to do. Unless you didn't get high enough grades (like Cat), or you joined late (Tori).

Robbie greeted me when I sat down and I awkwardly waved at him after Rex made some remark before I could say 'hi'.

As the teacher started the lesson after all the students had finally arrived, I felt my attention drifting. All I could think about was Jade. She was sat alone looking out of the window like she always did. She wasn't allowed to sit next to other students because the last time she was paired with someone else... Well, the student got taken off Biology. We weren't allowed to sit next to each other either because we would never pay attention.

I knew sitting alone didn't bother her (she preferred it, really), but I sometimes felt bad and wondered what she could be thinking about for an hour as she looked out of the window.

I was drawn from my thoughts when someone knocked on the classroom door and Lane entered a second later followed by two cops. I sat up straighter in my seat, along with Robbie and a few other students. Why was Lane there with cops?

"Hello, Mrs Smith. I was wondering if I could speak to Jade?" Lane requested. Robbie and I looked at each other then at Jade. What had she done? Maybe it was just because of when she ran away, I told myself. But the way Jade paled and eyed the cops... I didn't know what to think.

"Don't worry, she's not in trouble. I just need to speak to her," Lane reassured. As much as I wanted to worry, I trusted Lane so I calmed down. Our teacher nodded, agreeing that he could speak to Jade causing Jade herself to sigh heavily and grab her bag. She left with Lane and the cops, but the tension didn't. Everyone wanted to know why Lane had cops with him if he just wanted to talk to her.

Robbie turned to me, "what do you think he wanted to talk about?" He questioned, obviously hoping I would know the answer. I shook my head, "I'm not sure. It's likely about her running away, though," I assumed. That was the most logical answer, anyway, but I still can't find a reason why Lane would need cops.

As our teacher restarted the lesson, my attention was even more divided than it was earlier. I just couldn't stop thinking about Jade.

oOoOoOo

At lunch, I sat down with the others. We were all eating our lunch and talking. We were much happier than when Jade had been 'missing'. Speaking of Jade, she wasn't here. I hadn't seen her since Biology, in fact.

I looked around, hoping to see her getting lunch from the Grub Truck or walking over to us with a coffee in her hand, but I didn't see her.

I placed my pizza down and swallowed my food, "hey, has anyone seen Jade?" I asked, interrupting their conversation. Not that I cared, Jade was my main priority right now. After what happend in Biology, I had every right to be worried.

Most of them shook their heads except Cat, she nodded her head and said she'd seen her earlier. "Where was she?" I prompted.

"She left the school," she told me nonchalantly whilst eating a fry. "Why did she leave the school?" I asked with confusion.

"Well, I asked and she said she was going back to mine," she said. I sighed and rubbed a hand across my face. She'd obviously finished speaking to Lane and the cops by then, so why did she go back to Cat's?

"Why does it matter where Jade is? She used to leave school early all the time," André spoke up, obviously not sensing my distress. "Earlier, in Biology, Lane came to get Jade so he could speak to her. He was with cops, though," Robbie informed. I rested my arms on the table, suddenly finished with my food.

"Wait, he was with the cops?" Tori asked with shock. "What do you think they wanted to talk about?" She then questioned.

"Jadey was with the cops, too," Cat said before I could say anything. All eyes turned to her. Why hadn't she mentioned that before?! "Jade was with the cops earlier? Was she handcuffed?" I asked. Knowing Cat, Jade could have been taken by the SWAT team and she wouldn't think anything of it.

Cat gasped, "no, of course not!" She defended. I sighed for the second time in the past three minutes. So now we know that Jade had gone to talk to Lane and the cops and she left the school earlier with the cops, telling cat she was going to hers. My brain hurt, I don't know what to think anymore. I guess I'll just have to confide in Cat for once to see why Jade was with the cops. We can't all go to Cat's, bombarding her with questions.

I turned to the red head, "Cat. Can we trust you to talk to Jade after school and see why she was with the cops?" I asked in a voice that was almost like I was talking to a child. She quickly nodded her head, reassuring me and saying we could trust her.

"Maybe I should go with her?" Tori suggested. I turned to her. I know how much Jade hates Tori so I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I'm not sure if Jade's feelings would have changed. "No, I can do it! Please trust me?" Cat persisted. With a moment of hesitation, I eventually nodded my head. I would have to trust Cat and hope she actually talks to Jade.

 **A/N: Andddd another chapter to this story, bringing it up to 17/18k words in only 7 chapters. Wow...**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Hidden In Plain Sight**

Chapter Eight:

 **Cat's POV:**

When I got home, I saw my parents in the living room. They were talking to my brother who looked like he'd gotten into trouble again. Knowing it was best if I stayed out of it, I quickly said told them I was home and asked if Jade was here. They told me she was, but she'd been in my room since she got home early.

I briefly wondered what had happened with the police officers, after all, Jade had said she was going to mine with the cops. Beck had told me to talk to Jade about it, anyways, so I was about to find out soon.

I hung my bag on the banister and took my shoes off, putting them underneath the coat hooks. After, I ran upstairs, eager to both get away from the madness that was my brother and to see Jadey.

When I got up there and into my room, I was met with the sight of Jade herself sat in front of my vanity. She saw me in the reflection of the mirror and said a quick 'hello'. I greeted her back and threw myself on my bed, thankful to be home and in my room.

It was only when I was playing with Mr Giraffe and cast a brief glance at Jadey that I realised she was doing something other than putting on makeup or doing her hair. She was looking down in concentration and had a weird metal stick in her hand.

Curious, I got up from my bed and walked over to the vanity, Mr Giraffe in hand. I looked down at what Jadey was doing, but I was still confused. In front of her, on the vanity, was a little, black bottle.

"What are you doing, Jadey?" I finally asked. It looked like she was drawing on herself with the metal stick, but the small spikes on the end of it would make that impossible. Jadey looked up from her wrist, "what does it look like? I'm giving myself a tattoo," she explained, turning back to her wrist. "Aren't you supposed to get other people to do your tattoos?" I trailed off.

"Yup. But I don't have enough money at the moment and I wanted a tattoo now," she replied. I let out a sound of understanding and decided to just watch her tattoo a small smiley face on the inside of her left wrist.

It was really fascinating to watch, really, but unfortunately it was over quickly because the tattoo was only a small one. It looked a little messy, but Jadey cleaned it up after she put the ink away and got rid of the needle. It looked amazing! I stared in awe as Jadey indulged me, holding out her pale wrist that now had a small smiley face on it.

Now that I had nothing to distract me, I threw myself back onto my bed and listened as Jadey walked around the room until she came up to the speakers and plugged her phone in. I expected to hear Jade's kind of music blasting out of the speakers any second, but luckily for me, she decided to play something we both like- Lady Gaga. I was really happy to hear one of my favourite songs ( _Beautiful, Dirty, Rich_ ) playing from the speakers.

Unable to contain my happiness, I squealed and jumped from the bed, going over to give Jadey a hug with Mr Giraffe still in my hands. She let me hug her for three seconds before shoving me off with a grunt.

Suddenly, I remembered that Beck had told me to talk to Jadey about the cops. I gasped and jumped on the bed, dragging Jade along with me by her sleeve.

Jade rolled her eyes but didn't protest as she sat on the bed with me. She was just about to pick up a magazine and start reading it, but I took the magazine and threw it across the room. "What did you do that for?" She snapped, annoyed.

"I need to talk to you," I plainly stated.

"About what?" She rolled her eyes again.

"Well, about the cops earlier. What did they want? Why did you leave school early?"

"It's none of your business," she told me and got up off the bed to pick up the magazine. I pouted but didn't move seeing as she was coming back to the bed with the magazine. "Please tell me, Jadey, I'm worried. You could be in trouble," I pointed out.

"I'm not in trouble," she muttered, not taking her eyes off the page she'd turned to. "Then why did you need to talk to the cops? And why did you leave school early?" I repeated my question. Jadey sighed and closed the magazine, fully turning her attention to me, "they wanted to talk to me about my running away, and the guy I dated," she told me before getting up to change the song. _Paint It Black_ started playing and I smiled.

I followed her and hugged her, "what did they say?" I asked when she reluctantly put her own arms around me. "They wanted to know where I went and I had to tell them the truth because they know who I was with. Turns out my ex also reported me missing," I could feel the way she sighed and I frowned. Why would he report her missing if he only hurt her, I wondered. "They also wanted to know why I'd run away from him and come home."

"What did you tell them?" I asked.

"Nothing. That was when I was still with Lane. I didn't want him to know," she told me.

"Is that why you left school?"

"No. According to them I was being 'difficult'," she chuckled, "they thought if I was in a different setting I would cooperate. They obviously don't know me." I let out a laugh and hugged her tighter, turning serious. "Jadey... Did you love him?" I questioned quietly.

"Love who?" She tensed and rested her chin on my head. "The guy you dated," I said. She stayed quiet for a moment and for a while I thought she wouldn't reply, but that was when she answered, "yes. A lot. He was so kind to me and treated ms like a queen. I thought I'd found 'the one'," she laughed and I realised she must be crying, "and sometimes I think I still love him, but then I remember what he did to me and... and I hate him with every fibre of my being," she admitted, sniffling.

I tightened my hold on her and asked my next question, "do you still love Beck?" I hoped she wouldn't get angry with me for asking that. Luckily, she didn't. "I do. But it's hopeless, he hates me. That's why I ran away," she sniffled again.

"He doesn't hate you, Jadey!" I pulled away and held her at arms length, ignoring her red, teary eyes and sad expression. "Beck loves you! He and Tori are the reason I told someone about you running away. He was a wreck when they still hadn't found you after the first week! André and Robbie had to team up to get him to leave his RV," I told her. I was genuinely shocked that Jade though Beck hated her.

Jade pushed my hands away and wiped her tears. "If that's true, why hasn't he said anything? He's barely spoken to me since I came home," she moved back to the bed, turning the music down slightly on the way back. "He knows he's the reason you ran away so he thinks you hate him, too," I told her.

"That's stupid. He's stupid," she scoffed. There's the Jadey I know. I'm so glad she's becoming more like herself the longer she's here. She was different when she came home. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but she was. "True," I laughed, "and he's stupidly in love with you," I giggled.

"Ugh, that's cringey. That is sick," she rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help laughing with me.

That's when her phone rang. She took it off the speaker and looked at the number. With a frown, she turned to me, "I think I'm gonna go to Beck's," she said. I smiled widely and jumped off the bed to hug her. She briefly hugged be back before pulling away and grabbing her bag.

I wished her good luck and said goodbye. She returned the goodbye and left the.

When I heard the front door slam shut, I rushed to my bedroom window and looked out, watching as Jadey walked down the street with her phone to her ear. She looked a little annoyed, but that's Jadey so I just smiled and moved away from the window.

oOoOoOo

When I went to sleep last night, Jadey hadn't returned home but that wasn't unusual for her. Before she and Beck broke up, she used to spend a lot of nights at Beck's.

The second I woke up, I noticed Jadey was back. I turned over and saw her asleep next to me. She doesn't usually sleep in my bed, she said she gets annoyed because I talk in my sleep sometimes. She chooses to sleep on the floor with a lot of pillows and cushions, most days.

Not long after I got out of bed and got dressed, my alarm went off, signalling it was time to get up for school. I always wake up before my alarm, but the alarm is there just in case I don't.

Jadey pulled the covers over her head but when the alarm didn't cease, she moved an arm from under the blanket and stabbed my alarm through the top with scissors. I gasped, "Jadey!"

Annoyed, Jade threw the covers off her body and got up. She stomped passed me and entered the en suite, leaving me stood in the middle of my room with a hair brush in my hand.

I pouted and turned to the door, "I'll see you at school, Jadey!" I told her through the door. I knew she would be a while. I liked to get to school early so I can see all my friends whereas Jadey liked to get there whenever she could be bothered.

"Okay, whatever," Jade called back, though it was muffled, a sign she was brushing her teeth. "Byeeee," I called and picked up my bag, leaving the room. On my way out of the house, I picked up an apple for my breakfast.

oOoOoOo

 **Beck's POV:**

I was just chilling on the steps of the main hallway in HA when a high pitched squeal met my ears. I immdediately covered them and looked up to see my favourite red head running towards me at full speed. I braced myself for impact, but like usual, nothing could stop me from toppling backwards when we met.

I grabbed onto Cat with on arm and with the other, I held the banister to stop myself from hitting the steps behind me with full force.

When Cat was satisfied she'd hugged me enough, she quickly jumoed away and sat next to me with a smile plastered to her face. "You're in a good mood today," I noted with a chuckle. Cat giggled and nodded, "yep! Life's great," she said.

"Is it now? And why would that be?"

"Because! You and Jade! You love each other," she smiled wide.

"I'm not sure about that. Jade hates me," I turned to my pearphone. "No she doesn't, silly! She told me yesterday she still loves you! _And_ she went to see you yesterday, remember?" I frowned and turned to Cat. Jade hadn't come to see me yesterday. "What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, Jade came to see you yesterday, right? That's what she said to me and then she left. She was on the phone and I thought it was with you..." Cat trailed off.

"Jade didn't come to see me yesterday," I told her seriously. "Oh," Cat said.

"Yeah, 'oh'. So where did she go if she didn't come and see me?" I questioned, standing up and putting my phone in my back pocket. Cat stood up with me and shrugged her shoulders, "we can ask her when she comes into school," she suggested.

"Yeah. But we won't let the others know otherwise Jade won't tell us," I reminded her. Jade wasn't exactly one to tell someone something if there was a large audience or if a lot of people knew something was up and they were pestering her. "KK," Cat agreed.

"Okay, let's go find the others until she gets here," I suggested. Cat nodded and we walked off to find the others. My mind was miles away like usual, though. I couldn't stop thinking about where Jade could have been. And I don't exactly like being used as an excuse without being told first. Even then I don't like it.

I sighed heavily. We'd just have to wait until Jade got here.


End file.
